A Historical Record of Heavy Metal Pollution in Alpine Snow and Ice

  • Carlo Barbante
  • Jacopo Gabrieli
  • Paolo Gabrielli
  • Paul Vallelonga
  • Giulio Cozzi
  • Clara Turetta
  • Sungmin Hong
  • Kevin Rosman
  • Claude F. Boutron
  • Paolo Cescon
Chapter
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Abstract

Heavy metals and trace elements are ubiquitous throughout the environment, some are essential for life (e.g., Fe), others are micronutrients (e.g., Se) and others are considered as toxic elements (e.g., Hg). Levels of these elements in the environment are determined by the local geochemistry and anthropogenic emissions, with implications for human and environmental health. Records from Alpine ice cores have demonstrated to be among the best tools in paleoenvironmental studies to reconstruct past emissions of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants. From the comparison of trace element records in the snow and ice with the emission inventories compiled in recent years it is also possible to reconstruct the past trends in the emission of these compounds. We present here some trace elements records from the European Alps and in particular from the Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa regions. The study of levels of these elements in alpine regions allows us to begin to understand their biogeochemistry and their effects on a global and regional scale. However, without advances in clean working techniques and the outstanding improvement in instrument sensitivity that have occurred over the last two decades, none of these studies would have been possible.

Keywords

Heavy Metal Lead Isotope Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry Heavy Metal Input Atmospheric Residence Time 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This work was supported in Italy by the Agenzia Regionale per la Prevenzione e Protezione Ambientale del Veneto (ARPAV) and by the Consorzio per l’Attuazione del Programma Nazionale delle Ricerche in Antartide, under projects on Environmental Contamination and Glaciology. In France it was supported by the Institut Universitaire de France, the Agence de l’Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l’Energie (ADEME), the Institut National des Sciences de l’Univers and the Université Joseph Fourier of Grenoble. In Korea it was supported by a research grant (PP09010) from the Korean Research Council of Fundamental Science & Technology. PV acknowledges the support of a European Union Marie Curie IIF Fellowship (Contract MIF1-CT-2006-039529).

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Carlo Barbante
    • 1
    • 2
  • Jacopo Gabrieli
    • 1
    • 2
  • Paolo Gabrielli
    • 2
    • 3
  • Paul Vallelonga
    • 2
    • 4
  • Giulio Cozzi
    • 2
  • Clara Turetta
    • 2
  • Sungmin Hong
    • 5
  • Kevin Rosman
    • 6
  • Claude F. Boutron
    • 7
    • 8
  • Paolo Cescon
    • 1
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Environmental SciencesUniversity Ca’Foscari of VeniceVeniceItaly
  2. 2.Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental ProcessesUniversity Ca’Foscari of VeniceVeniceItaly
  3. 3.Byrd Polar Research CenterOhio State UniversityColumbusUSA
  4. 4.Centre for Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr InstituteUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
  5. 5.Korea Polar Research InstituteSongdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, IncheonSouth Korea
  6. 6.Department of Imaging and Applied PhysicsCurtin University of TechnologyPerthAustralia
  7. 7.Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’EnvironnementUniversity Josef Fourier GrenobleSaint Martin d′HèresFrance
  8. 8.Unité de Formation et de Recherche de Physique et Observatoire des Sciences de l’UniversUniversité Joseph Fourier de GrenobleSaint Martin d’ HèresFrance

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